As a leader, how often do you ask yourself if you can do more to benefit society while keeping consistent with your firm’s mission? Is there another stream of revenue– one that is particularly meaningful– that you are leaving untapped? If you’re unsure about how to get started, begin with your firm’s strategic plan.

Michael Porter shares my perspective and speaks about his own in this Ted Talk, Never Mind Corporate Responsibility, Companies Can Solve Actual Social Problems. He sees social responsibility as the largest opportunity in business today– solving social problems (also referred to as corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Michael identifies that there are several industries, like banking, who are seen by society as a cause of problems. This is where the A/E and environmental services industry is different. More than ever, we are seen as an important part of society’s solutions. So, how do we leverage that?

You will hear from me in the near future about an exciting new initiative assembled to do just that-to help our industry leverage our position, our skills, and new technologies to create more powerful, and rewarding business opportunities. A group of 50 industry professionals, including myself, met last summer and early February at the University of Omaha and have established the Engineering Change Lab-USA.

Join my blog and you will be the first to know more about this initiative. In the meantime, here is Michael Porter’s TedTalk.